Ignorant
by Invader Phoenix
Summary: 2nd in the New Generation series. Zack is thrust into a deadly enviornment with no experience, left to survive with a group of strangers. To make matters worse, the one person he knows is out to get him. But perhaps she overestimated him...
1. Intro

**Finally, the New Generations sequel! Sorry it took so long. :(**

**This first chapter is short, but I hope you enjoy.**

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><p>IGNORANT<p>

A girl with inky hair and bold green eyes stepped inside the curious house as the rain poured down outside. She locked the front door behind her and slowly, carefully turned around. She looked around the room suspiciously in anticipation, when a flash of silver and purple knocked her to the ground.

"Gotcha, mistress!"

The girl laughed at the little SIR unit. "OK, you got me, KOR. And please move; you're cutting off my circulation."

KOR looked down at his mistress and jumped off of her. He grinned happily. "How was schooooooool?"

She instantly narrowed her eyes. "You-know-who was messing things up again, as usual. Doesn't he have anything better to do? Why can't he just go and die already?"

"I dun think dyin' be fun," KOR said.

The girl grinned evilly. "That's the point."

Suddenly the computer spoke. **"Uh, Ren, your dad wants to see you…"**

"I'll be right there!" Ren called. She walked calmly to the elevator and went below to the underground base.

The cold metal walls greeted her footsteps with a chill echo as she walked toward the main computer monitor at the far end of the lab. Carefully eyeing whatever new experiments her father was working on, she shuddered. Her father had, before she was born and later adopted, discovered the radiance of life and the good sides of the world where they lived. Destroying things on earth was more of his hobby now, but he was constantly coming up with new weapons and devious schemes. No matter what, there would always be something on this planet that he hated with an unnatural bloodlust.

And that was what he spent his free time doing.

A small figure turned in front of the monitor. "Did you blow him up yet?"

Ren placed her palm on her forehead. "Dad, I don't think you should just randomly blow up your enemies in public."

"There's nothing at all wrong with that," he replied.

"But what if the cops catch you?"

"Blow them up."

"I'm not sure that's… ethically correct."

"DO NOT QUESTION ZIM!"

Ren rolled her eyes. Zim was demanding by nature, but she'd been told by her mother, Tak, not to take it too seriously. She sat down on one of the experimentation tables. "I want to catch him by surprise. The key to destroying him is to get him when he isn't suspecting it." She looked up at the monitor, which displayed a map of the known universe. An oddly named planet caught her attention. "What's that one?" she asked Zim, who proudly launched into a long story of his past. And as she listened, an evil idea formed in Ren's mind.

An idea that just might work…

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><p>He sat at his desk, shuffling through homework he didn't feel like doing. Finally, he rose and trudged over to his closet and pulled out that photo. Him, his mom, and his dad. <em>One big happy family,<em> he thought, looking at his five-year-old self. _Yeah, right._

Zack sighed. When he was younger, it seemed that nothing could be wrong with his life. His family was perfect, especially all the amazing stories his father would tell him as he went to bed. But around the time he turned nine, everything changed. He'd always looked up to his father and his heroic actions, but then he heard other kids snickering about the stories they'd heard. Gone was the hero who fought things unseen, replaced by the crazy kid Dib, who chased insane dreams. At first Zack didn't want to believe them. But as he heard more and more, and learned more about the world and what was real, he turned his back on his dad. He just didn't believe in things unseen anymore.

But once again, his life turned upside-down. A few months ago, he'd found out that his dad was right about at least one thing. Aliens. They were as real as real could be, and a family of them lived a few blocks away. And worse, one of them was out to kill him.

But even fighting Ren didn't make him trust his father again, not really. He trusted his research in these things alone, but nothing else. He battled to save his home and to prove that he could do something his father couldn't. To break free of the shadow.

But the kid with the messy black hair and glasses looked too much like the lunatic they all hated. Especially since he started wearing that trench coat.

Zack flopped down on his bed and stared at the ceiling. _Focus,_ he thought. _What should your next move be?_ A few days ago, he'd finally pulled out a win against his rival, after four straight defeats. But Ren was shrewd, and he always worried when she didn't rear up a new plan for a few days. She thought things through.

He pushed himself off his bed and sauntered toward his sketches. They were messy drawings of a green-skinned female alien with green eyes. It was an educated guess of what Ren really looked like, as he had never seen her out of disguise.

Zack quietly turned on his computer and looked through the doodles he'd scanned. He wasn't the best artist, but he used to draw a lot. Whatever was on his mind was on the paper. There were the ones from when he was little, scrawled pictures, nearly unidentifiable. Then from the last few years. The one of him and his friends, the one of that girl he wanted to have the nerve to talk to a few months ago, and the one of a boy in jeans and a t-shirt, sitting alone under the night sky. He closed his eyes. Somehow, he felt as though he'd been wasting time for so long…

After wandering around the room for a long time, he turned off the light and climbed into bed. Another long night. Why couldn't he just be normal…?

CHAPTER II


	2. Road Trip and Treachery

**New chapter? FINALLY! EE HEE HEE HEE! (Explodes)**

**Nah, just kidding! Sorry this took so long, but I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>The morning sun drifted in from the window. Zack opened his eyes to the sound of his alarm beeping. He always seemed to forget to turn it off on weekends. He groggily sat up and shut the blasted machine off before lying down again. For once, just once, he wanted his life to be stress-free.<p>

Then there came the sound of knocking at his window. Dismissing it as the neighbors doing work on their house, he rolled away. It grew louder and faster. He covered his head with his pillow. Louder. Faster. He covered the pillow with his hands.

"WAKE UP, YOU IDIOT!"

"AGH!"

Zack fell out of bed at the sound of the shout. Rubbing his head, he looked up to see Ren glaring at him from the now opened window.

"It's about time."

He stood up and looked her in the eye. "Great… exactly what I wanted to see at six AM. Can I help you?"

Ren shot him a nasty look. "It's funny how horribly you treat someone who's offering you a wonderful opportunity."

He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. "Opportunity?"

"Yeah," his rival replied, hopping into the room. "I want to have a contest. There's a planet out there called Hobo 13, and it offers a challenge to anyone who will do it. I think you and I should try."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Uh, no. This has 'evil plan' written all over it."

"What? You're scared?"

"No, I just don't trust you."

"Look, if this was a scheme against you, why would I go to Hobo 13 and participate in the competition?"

"What if you don't hold to your word?"

Ren looked up in exasperation. "Wow. You're a total coward."

"I'm not a coward!"

She gave him a devious look. "Then do it."

_This is a bad idea_, he thought as he said "Fine. When?"

Ren climbed back out the window. "Once you're out of your…pajamas…" She clapped her hand to her mouth and ducked out of sight before bursting out laughing.

Zack turned, shut his window, and lowered the blinds. Grumbling, he shuffled in his drawer for a T-shirt and jeans. _Note to self: NEVER wear Danny Phantom PJs EVER again._

Slipping on his trench coat, he stomped downstairs. His mother had left for a work meeting, and his father sat at the kitchen table, his laptop open. "Where are you going?" Dib asked Zack as the boy moved through the living room.

"Last minute plans from someone at school," Zack mumbled. "I might be gone for a few days."

Dib looked at his son suspiciously. "What on earth could possibly take a few days?"

"We're doing a project," Zack lied. "Pulling a few all-nighters to get it done. 'Bye."

Dib turned back toward his computer with a sigh. Not even his son cared about his thoughts anymore…

When Zack found Ren, she was propped up against a small ship, her head rolled back. "Finally," she groaned.

Zack rolled his eyes in response. "So, where exactly are we going?"

Ren looked down to a small silver dog beside her. "KOR, how long is the trip to Hobo 13?"

The dog, really an android, responded, "We gon' take about six hours to get dere if we go as fast as you told meh!"

Ren climbed into the ship. "Get in, Filth-pest. And don't mess anything up. I'm borrowing it."

Zack shot her a cocky grin as he followed. "From your _daddy_?"

"Maybe, maybe not," she said with a smirk. "But be warned that if you do anything to mess me up, you will die. Painfully."

"Uh-huh. Real scared of the alien who still refuses to take off that disguise."

KOR, who had dropped his disguise, looked at his mistress. They held each other's gaze for a moment before Ren shook her head. "You're an idiot."

"Why? Because you can't fool me?"

Ren began to laugh as she started the ship. "Oh, stop, man, you're killing me!"

"Wish you meant that literally," he muttered.

Suddenly the ship pointed directly at the sky. The gravitational pull glued Zack to his seat, and he and his enemy, for ONCE, were on the same page.

They screamed like maniacs.

After a minute, the ship left Earth's atmosphere, and finally they were free to move. Ren immediately stood up and crossed into a small room. A few minutes later, she emerged wearing a black suit that looked like it was made of metal. She carried a similar, blue model in her arms. She threw it at Zack. "Go in there and put it on."

"Let me guess, it's programmed to explode?"

She laughed for a moment at the thought. "I wish. But you better put it on if you don't want to die in an unfamiliar atmosphere."

Grumbling, Zack moved into the small chamber and changed into the suit. It was comfortable, and it seemed protective. He slipped the trench coat back over it. When he once again entered the cockpit, she turned to look him over. "Really? The stupid coat again? You're just like your _daddy_."

"Watch it, _defect_," he retaliated. "Don't mention him. I want nothing to do with him."

She turned back toward the window and thought for a moment. Cruel, he was, very cruel. "Whatever."

A purple and silver streak came flying through the room, squealing in terror. "MISTRESSSSSS! WHERE MAH ENCHILADAS GONE?"

"KOR! Check your storage compartment."

KOR reached inside of the tiny diamond-shaped emblem on his torso and pulled out a live iguana.

Zack's eye twitched. "Why-"

"KOR, where'd you get the iguana?"

"I FOUNDED IT!"

Zack shook his head. "Your robot has problems…"

Ren jumped in front of KOR. "Don't- Insult- The- SIR. I'm warning you…"

Zack shook his head and sat down. This was going to be a long flight…

SIX HOURS LATER…

The ship landed on a rocky, pale planet. Ren touched a small button on her space suit. For an instant, her head was surrounded by a shapeless pink bubble. It disappeared. Zack pressed the sane button on his suit, figuring that the bubble must be the helmet. Fresh, clean oxygen flowed into his lungs, and he followed his enemy out the door. KOR stayed inside the ship.

Ren strutted over to a group of aliens in all shapes in sizes. She stopped in front of a large alien with a name tag: SGT. HOBO 678. This guy was huge, and looked like some sort of cyborg. He shouted in a military tone to the group of aliens around them. These other creatures were in all types: A gray thing with two horns and bent legs, a creature that looked as if it were made of crystal, and even an Irken.

Sgt. Hobo looked the two up and down. "And you two are…?"

Ren saluted and pointed at Zack. "He's here for your military training program."

The Sgt. studied him for a moment. "The guys who come here just get uglier and uglier…"

Ren smirked and began to walk away. Zack whipped around. "Where are you going?"

"Home," she said with an evil grin.

"WHAT? I thought this was a contest or something."

She laughed maniacally. "Nah, I just think I'll head back as you try to survive in an environment you're completely unprepared for. Well, it was nice knowing you."

"Hey! You can't just- NO!" Zack screamed at his rival. But Sgt. Hobo blocked her path.

"He's right. You can't leave."

Ren's expression changed from triumphant to terrified.

"No one leave without going through the test. I suggest you just tell me your name and get walking with your team, or else."

"Ren." Immediately she turned and walked toward Zack, her face full of malice. She got close to his ear and whispered: "I'm going to KILL you…"

As the rest of the team assembled themselves, Zack stood, rooted to the ground. He had no idea what was about to happen. Of only one thing he was absolutely certain:

Everything was out for his blood.


	3. Ignorant and Determined

**Heh...Hey, everybody. **

**First of all: I'M SORRY FOR THE LONG WAIT. But I finally have the series out of hiatus! The time off is actually a good thing. I've had time to improve as a writer and think about what I really want my characters to be. I hope what I'm writing now is better than my previous work, and that you enjoy it.**

**Second: I changed my username. YAY.**

**Third: A couple of months ago, I got a deviantart account. I have some pictures of Ren and Zack on there, if you would like to look at them. The URL is located on my bio. **

**And now, at long last, Chapter Three of Ignorant!**

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><p>The landscape was much like that of a desert; dusty with large rock formations decorating the barren ground. A few metal buildings stood out against a yellow-peach sky. All in all, Hobo 13 looked dull. <em>Wait…Hobo 13? Why would they name it that? Are there other Hobo Planets?<em> Zack paused in his train of thought. _Well, that's not something you hear every day._

The rest of the team had begun marching. He followed, sticking to the back of the group, wishing not to draw any attention to himself. Nonetheless, Ren fixed her malevolent glare on him. Zack rolled his eyes. How immature could she get? This was _her_ idea. Just because it didn't work out how she wanted it to was no reason to blame her would-be victim. The only reason she had was that she, quite simply, hated him.

Of course, he returned her abhorrence.

Cruelty between them seemed quite natural by now. Though their fighting had begun with a bout of immature fear, each had quickly found various things about the other that they detested, no matter how insignificant. Zack, for example, found her constant glares loathsome, the cocky manner in which she carried herself sickening, and the contours of her voice as she snapped at him grating on his nerves. She, in turn, disliked the glint that showed in his eyes as well as his inability to understand her morals.

Yet as his glare rested upon her now, he noticed something unusual. He picked up his pace slightly until he matched Ren's stride. "What happened to that thing on your back?"

"What?"

"That backpack thing."

Her eyes flitted toward the empty spot on her back. "Oh, that? I destroyed it."

He grinned. He had her now. "I thought…Oh, what are they called again…_Irkens_ needed that thing to live."

She froze in her tracks.

"Got you."

Ren blew on a strand of black hair that had fallen into her face. "Fine. I'm not an Irken. Happy? I still can't believe it took you this long to figure it out." At the sight of his smirk, she added with a snarl, "Don't think this is anything close to a victory. All it does is prove how ignorant you are. And when I'm through with you, you won't be laughing."

She closed her eyes and walked ahead of him, chin tilted high into the air.

"Ignorant…" he whispered. True, he had fallen for some pretty pathetic tricks she'd pulled. He had to be somewhat ignorant, or he wouldn't be here. But her arrogance was in fault. He would fight back. He had common sense. And he wouldn't fall for anything else. He wasn't quick to trust others by nature, and blind reliance wasn't how he operated.

Except, of course, how he had fallen into this stupid trap.

But it wouldn't happen again.

After walking for about a half hour, the party came to a small forest. It vastly differed from the rest of the area. Green trees rose into the air, spreading out as far as the eye could see. Colorful foliage decorated the place, looking pleasant and inviting. Sounds similar to birdcalls rung out and met their ears cheerfully, a call to come inside and bask in wonder.

Zack wasn't fooled.

Sgt. Hobo cleared his throat and gestured to the forest. "This place is the jungle of PAIN! Your task is to make it through. You have four days to get it done, or you all FAIL. This forest is engineered to be deadly and PAINFUL. If you are caught making a completely fatal mistake, you will be transferred to the holding pen OF PAIN, as is custom."

Ren raised her hand. "Will we select a leader to head our expedition, sir?"

"NO!" he barked, inches from her face. "This course doesn't involve leadership. I don't do those anymore. There was an…incident with a soldier a while back."

Out of the corner of his eye, Zack vaguely noticed Ren grow a bit tense.

"NOW, GO!" shouted the sergeant.

The group marched into the forest. Zack's eyes flitted between members of the party. He trusted no one. All he cared about was getting out of here.

The foliage was spectacular. These were the kind of plants that a botanist would spend his entire life studying, only to come up with more questions. The kind of plants whose flowers would make every woman on earth want a corsage made of them. The kind of plants whose colors would stun even tye-dye wearing hippies. The kind of plants that a teenage boy would glance at for hardly half a second before his mind turned to something else.

Those of us with short attention spans really ruin the moment.

So he trudged along, barely taking any notice of the beauty of the forest. It was all smoke and mirrors- a lie constructed to get the team members to drop their guard. Couldn't Hobo 13 do any better? The whole thing was so obvious and cliché. But what if… Perhaps it wasn't redundant on these other planets. Maybe they actually would fall for it…

For the first time, he began thinking what it must be like for people who lived such different lives. He'd always heard that aliens were supposed to be more intelligent than humans- more advanced. That was what just about every sci-fi book in existence portrayed them as. But what if they weren't? They might be more advanced in the field of technology, but what about common sense? It could be that they had different cultures, different ways of thinking, different philosophies and morals. They were just different.

Zack mentally slapped himself. His thoughts were starting to sound like his father's.

The first few hours of hiking were relatively peaceful. One alien, one with exceptionally large nostrils, nearly ate some berries no one on the team could identify, but the others advised against it. The freakish-nostril-guy came to his senses and tossed the berries. When he threw them to the ground, a rat-like creature darted to the spot and ate them. Seconds later, it fell over and stopped moving. Go figure. Oh, and they passed a cave. The grey-skinned, horned thing, a Vortian, someone called him, suggested making shelter there. The Irken and Freakish-Nostril-Guy agreed. The truth was that making shelter now was just plain stupid, considering it was early afternoon and most everyone could keep going for another few hours. But the three were prepared to argue. The discussion lasted at least ten minutes. The three who desired the shelter had plenty of stupid reasons why they were right, and the five who had legitimate motives struggled to combat the others' idiotic stubbornness. Just as the shouting began, a low, deep growl resounded from within the cave.

They moved on.

Eventually, the group stopped for a brief rest. While some of the wandered off a brief ways, Zack leaned against a tree trunk, eyes closed. This whole thing was more annoying than difficult. Ren stalked over and stood in front of him, her back straight, as if she were somehow superior to everyone else there. He cracked one eye open, glanced at her, then shut it. "Go away."

"Don't act so tough."

"I'm not the one who got sucked into her own trap, blew her cover, and still acts like she knows what she's doing. Ren, you're making yourself look dumber every minute. Just leave me alone."

She didn't say anything for a moment.

"See, that means I'm right."

Ren let out a heavy breath. "Just shut up. You think you know everything, don't you? That you know all the truth; that you're always right. Just like your stupid dad."

His eyes snapped open, fury lighting his features. "No. I'm not like him. You don't know anything, either. You've based everything you know about me on the first week we knew each other. You think any of this alien junk interest me? All that matters is taking you down." He closed his eyes again and lowered his head. "I do this for me. No one else."

She backed away little, eyes wide.

Zack raised his head. "And don't ever mention my father again."


	4. Crash and Burn

**Well, at least this was a heck of a lot quicker than the last update. Enjoy.**

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><p>Night came. By this time, everyone felt relaxed. They hadn't run into anything too dangerous today, despite all of Sgt. Hobo's warnings. Perhaps he was just trying to get them on their guard. Maybe he simply enjoyed frightening the troops who trained there. Whatever the reason, no one saw anything to worry about.<p>

All except Zack, who lay huddled in his tent while the others finished their meal. He'd hardly eaten anything; most of the food looked inedible to him. Yet the others dug into it as if it were the finest feast they could have asked for. And they weren't the tidiest eaters, either. A half hour of watching the extraterrestrials hideously scarf down disgusting food was enough to make him sick to his stomach. So he retreated here, where the sounds of their gluttony were slightly muted. Hopefully they'd go to bed soon.

He was exhausted. After a day of walking, his feet were sore and blistered. His skin was sunburned, and he wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep, if only for a few hours. Gradually the sounds of aliens joking around the campfire dulled and vanished, and the world around him faded into nothing.

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><p><em> Got to run…got to run… Must get away…<em>

_ "Ignorant…you ignorant piece of scum…"_

_ Stop saying that! I'm not! STOP IT!_

_ "You're stupid, too. Just like your father…"_

_ I told you not to mention him!_

_ "Just like your father."_

_ STOP! I'M NOT LIKE HIM! _

_ "You're in denial. Look at yourself. You look like him, _hate_ like him… You're nothing better than he was."_

_ Stop it… Stop it… Get away… Got to get away…_

_ "You're not going to get away from me. You won't win."_

_ SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP! _

_ "Never. Face it. You have nowhere to run. And now…prepare to crash and burn."_

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><p>The sharp, acrid smell of smoke jolted him awake. Burn. Burn. Fire. The tent was on fire. All around him were bright orange flames, dancing mockingly around him. Thoughts still muddled from the nightmare, Zack inhaled sharply, choking on the toxins that flew down his throat. Trying not to breathe, he thrashed wildly around the tent, eyes rapidly scanning the area for the entrance. The smoke clouded his mind as well as his eyes. Everything was a muddle in his head; nothing made sense, nothing was real. Blindly, he swatted at the sides of the tent, hoping that sheer luck would reveal the entrance.<p>

_Got to run… Must get away…_

Something gave way beneath his hand. With a small scream, he fell out of the tent onto firm ground. Panting, he crawled away as fast as he could before collapsing.

The others were coming out of their own tents now, staring alarmed at either Zack or the burning tent. Freakish-Nostril-Guy grabbed a bucket of some alien liquid and tossed it on the flames. The Vortian was kneeled down next to Zack, asking him questions in a hurried voice. Instead of answering, he coughed and hacked. Apparently the weird bubble helmet didn't prevent smoke from entering his lungs. At least the suit shielded his body from the fire; there was only one burn, on his forehead. Finally, he managed to choke out, "I'm okay."

"You're sure?"

"Y-yeah," he rasped. "Thanks, though."

The Vortian nodded. "I'll find something for you to drink."

Zack shakily sat up, looking at the smoldering wreckage of the tent. The Irken and Ren were inspecting it. She glanced at Zack with a hint of irritation.

Of course.

He slowly stood and crossed over. She barely had time to look up, confused, before he dragged her into the trees.

"What are you doing?" she hissed.

"Look," he whispered. "Play dumb if you want, but it doesn't matter. I'm not going to tell anyone that you did it."

"Oh, so now you're accusing me of trying to kill you while you sleep?" Ren snapped. "We set up all the tents close to the campfire. Some embers could've made it catch on fire. Or the tent flaps blew in the wind and touched the fire. It was all an accident."

He had to cough before answering. "Th-that's a lie and you know it. There hasn't been any wind at all since we came here. And the tents were far enough away so that the embers wouldn't reach them- we made sure of that. Not to mention the fact that you brought a freaking flamethrower with you."

"And what does that prove?"

"EVERYTHING! You even said you were going to kill me yesterday!" His voice cracked as he shouted, followed by another round of hacking. Note to self: screaming isn't good for damaged lungs.

"OBJECTION! All you're blabbering about is just conjecture. For all we know, it could've been a moose-"

"DO YOU SEE A MOOSE ANYWHERE HERE?" This time he doubled over. Guess he didn't learn his lesson.

Ren folded her arms. "That doesn't mean it wasn't a moose."

"L-listen," Zack said quietly. "I know you did it. But no one is gonna find out. This is between you and me."

She didn't say anything, only stomped away.

Zack leaned against a tree. _Clever,_ he thought, _but she seems to lose momentum pretty quick._ His mind wandered to the dream he'd had before. Of course. He had the nightmares here of all places. They were frequent, sometimes recurring. Often they involved escape. Either he was trying to get away from something or couldn't get out of something. The nightmares you had could tell something about your mind. His were not exception. He hated being tied down, and it always felt like he was. Restrained by things he had no control over. Some people expected him to be like his father, and he hated that. And now he had to deal with a girl who wanted him to suffer. The nightmares had been worse as of late- more common, too. And in a place like this…of course they came.

He sauntered back to the camp. The others were packing the tents and putting out the campfire. "What's going on?" he asked the Vortian, who held a cup in his hand.

"We're moving on," he replied. "It could've been a Norglor that caused the accident. Horrible things, really. They breathe fire and eat just about anything. It's best we move away from this area." At the sight of another coughing fit, he handed the cup to Zack. "Here. This should help with that."

Whatever was in the cup was unusually sour and thick, but it did ease the tension in his throat. "Thanks, uh…"

"Telliks," the Vortian said. "Sorry, never introduced myself before."

"Thanks, Telliks," Zack said, letting a grin slip. Pretty nice guy, and he seemed to have some common sense. Even though he'd decided not to trust anyone here, he couldn't help having some respect for the Vortian.

Before long, the group had resumed traveling. They walked in near total darkness. This planet had no moon to reflect light, and the stars were blocked by some sort of clouds. It would still be a while until morning. Ren walked as far from Zack as possible, dead silent. In fact, the whole place was quiet. Earlier, the forest had been alive with the sounds of animals and insects, but that had faded away once they reached this area. But why?

Someone screamed as something leaped out of the bushes, its roar loud as thunder. Panic swept through the party, each of them trying to protect themselves. The creature roared again and leaped at Freakish-Nostril-Guy. He shrieked as its claws cut him. The crystal-like being aimed some kind of gun at the animal, who attempted to strike back. A bright blast of fire split through the air, briefly illuminating the scene. Ren's flamethrower. In the light, Zack could identify the beast as what looked like a giant horned cat, nine feet tall with teeth and claws sharp as knives. It recoiled as the flames licked its skin, then lashed out again. Someone else screamed as the light went out, leaving the group to fight in the dark. Zack's hand brushed against a long, thick branch. Perfect. He broke it off the tree and ran toward the snarling creature. As he raised the branch above his head to strike the best, someone pushed him from behind, sending him barreling into it. It growled, and he felt claws scrape the suit's metal frame. He swung the branch as the beast struck again. It hit its paw, but a claw lightly slid across his forehead. Right on top of the burn. The flamethrower was fired again, and a heavy paw fell on his head, sending him to the ground. Distracted, the monster moved away. Perfect. As soon as he could stand, he rushed toward it, jumped, and brought the stick down upon its skull. It roared in pain as Zack landed another blow. After a few more hits, it was silent.

No one said a word. The Irken brought some sort of light out of its PAK, revealing the animal lying limp on the dirt. Panting, Zack let the branch fall from his hand. Every part of him seemed to ache, yet adrenaline coursed through his veins. His heart was pounding like mad, his breathing quick and heavy. Still the party was quiet. At last Zack stepped away from the dead beast and began to move forward, letting out a quiet "Let's keep moving." He didn't turn around to see the stunned looks of the others.

Especially not the fear-filled eyes of the one he hated.


	5. Fear

**...I know. Bad Invader Phoenix. Sorry for the wait. As usual, please review and give constructive criticism, blah, blah, blah, check out my deviantART page if you want to, yay. On with this thing. I own Invader Zim not.**

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><p>Ren didn't say a word as they progressed on. The sun eventually began to rise, a relief to all of them, but Zack's expression didn't change. That worried her. As sly as she tried to be, she wasn't good at reading expressions. Sometimes it was easy, of course, like when someone wasn't good at hiding their emotions; other times it was impossible. Now he had as much of an expression as a dead man.<p>

She gripped her hand to stop it from shaking. In a matter of hours, her perspective had changed. Before, she had been afraid of the things he could possibly do- a simple fear that came in a moment. A normal phobia to have of just about anyone. But the way he was acting, the way he wasn't acting… it was different that what she'd thought. She had expected him to squirm, to fear, to succumb. All he did was move on. No slander. No sign of submission. Her expectations were for him to break, but he stayed as solid as stone. Coming out on top.

She was afraid of him.

* * *

><p>Within a few hours of sunrise, half of the group was ready to drop. Arguments were made for setting up camp, often with legitimate points. If they rested now, they would have more energy to continue later in the day. It was daylight now, much safer; after the incident the previous night, it no longer seemed like such a good plan to camp in the dark. Let the beasts attack when they were on the alert. If they were ambushed while they slept, there would be far less a chance of making it out alive. There were some protests, but the majority chose to stop.<p>

Zack leaned against a boulder on the edge of camp and slid down, the rough edges raking his back. He let out a heavy breath. How far were they from the other side of the forest? It hadn't even been two days, and he was already worn out. His legs were sore from walking, his throat was sore from smoke inhalation and dehydration, and his thoughts were muddled from exhaustion. And here he was, on some random planet, his life on the line, a girl who was seeming more and more like a maniac trying to kill him- without even a cup of coffee.

_Coffee. Sounds pretty good right about now._

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ren slip into the bushes on the other side of camp, disappearing into the alien foliage. He didn't follow. Let her play her games. He got up slowly as Telliks called him to help set up the tents.

Ren moved into a small clearing a short distance from the camp. She looked back to make sure she hadn't been followed. Nothing. Satisfied, she rested against a tree and waited.

Five minutes passed before she whispered, "KOR?" No response. She tried again with the same result.

Every minute or so, she called out the robot's name, getting a bit louder each time. By the end of a quarter hour, she was screaming, "KOR!"

There was a bit of movement in the bushes in front of her, then out popped KOR, fiddling with a twig.

Ren looked at him curiously. "How long have you been here?"

"A few minutes after you told me to come here," he replied, eyes trained on the caterpillar-like organism inching its way up the stick.

"Then why didn't you answer when I called you? You've been here for at least a half hour."

He looked up at her as if noticing her for the first time. "Huh?"

She pressed her index fingers to her temples. "Never mind. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about the current state of affairs."

"How's it going? Meanie Boy gone yet?"

"Nope. I was kinda disappointed that the first plan didn't work. It wasn't too complicated, but I thought it could work out. I don't know if- Ah!"

KOR's eyes had gone dark a moment before he had crashed into the ground. She grunted in mild irritation, then picked him up, popped open the "lid" of his head, and started tinkering inside. The thing had a tendency to short out a lot. The first time it'd happened, she'd panicked, even trued CPR before realizing that it wasn't the most...logical method. KOR was fine, of course, and she knew how to reboot him, but it was still a little annoying when it occurred.

His eyes lit up again, and he bounced back into a standing position, smiling as if nothing had happened.

"Are you okay?" she asked. The robot nodded in affirmation. With a small sigh of relief, she resumed speaking. "Setting the tent on fire didn't work. I'm not sure if I should try fire again. Would that be too predictable?"

"Mistress?" he asked, cocking his head to the side. "You're acting kinda weird."

"What do you mean?"

"Before we got in the ship, you were different. You were happy and laughing and stuff. But now you seem kinda scared."

"I underestimated him," she said bluntly.

KOR stared back blankly, confused.

"Last night...we were walking and ran into a...I don't even know what it was. Some giant cat thing. Kinda cute, but trying to kill us. He picked up this huge branch and hit it on the head a few times. Killed it. It...it scared me."

"Why? I thought you said that you weren't scared of him." He smiled and skipped around in a tiny circle. "Mistess is a scaredy-cat!" After a few chants, he stopped and began chattering like a high school girl who couldn't wait to spread the latest gossip. "Hey! 'Member that time you saw that spider and jumped on your bed and screamed, then Aje came up and took pictures and put 'em all over the interwebs? Are you scared of Meanie Boy like a spider? Is he a spider?"

She felt herself starting to blush and lowered her head to hide it. "No-"

"Next time Scary Meanie Spider Boy scares you, me and JoJo are gonna teach him a lesson!" He pulled the iguana out of his head and held it up threateningly. "He won't know the meaning of pain when we're done with-"

"It's not like that!" Ren shouted. She looked back quickly to see it anyone had heard. After a moment, she turned back around and spoke more quietly. "When that happened, things changed. There were things about him that I didn't notice before. First of all, he's physical. That branch he used looked more like a small tree trunk. He had some trouble, but he could lift it and get it over the thing's head. Second...I don't know exactly how to explain it. After he killed that...monster, he just walked away. Like it didn't affect him. He hasn't said a word all day, and he has the same empty expression. It's freaking me out."

KOR nodded. "You know what you're gonna do?"

"Not yet...no."

The robot tapped his chin and grinned. "Maybe you could fill his tent with pineapples. They can hurt if you've got enough of 'em."

She nodded, letting herself smile. "Pineapples. Right. Gotta remember that one." She looked back toward the camp. "I should probably go. Don't want anyone noticing I've been gone. See you later?"

"Okay! 'Bye, mistress! Good luck with Scary Meanie Spider Boy!" he yelled, then picked up his twig and darted back into the bushes.

Zack ate in silence. He couldn't avoid eating the weird-looking alien food any longer; he couldn't keep going without calories. The odd thing was that it was't half bad. Most of it was slimy stuff that looked inedible, and he would have sworn some of it was alive, but the taste was pretty good. Weird.

He made eye contact with no one, but he did notice Ren staring at him for most of the meal. It didn't matter. He was done. Done acting like a helpless pawn about to be taken by a queen. She didn't scare him anymore- in fact, he couldn't even see why she scared him in the first place. There was no reason for it. Ren was just a girl who liked to sneak up and hit hard. And from the last few months of fighting and just plain arguing, it was obvious that she liked the hitting part better.

They slept for a few pleasant hours before Huge Nostril Guy woke them up a short time after sundown. The group packed up the camp hurriedly and moved on. There was more energy about them after having time to sleep, but they didn't talk much. After the previous night's incident, they didn't want to take any chances of something sneaking up on them without any warning. The days on Hobo 13 were longer than the nights, and much hotter, too. He wished he didn't have to wear the stupid space suit, as metal was a conductor and drew in extra heat. But the nights were cool, leaving some members of the party shivering and moving faster in order to stay warm. That evening was colder than the last. Whenever they stopped for a break, there were numerous requests to hurry and keep moving.

_How long is it gonna take for us to get out of here?_ Zack thought as morning approached. The surrounding forest was as dense as ever, and though nothing had attacked them that night, he still felt the danger that surrounded them.

About an hour after sunrise, the group stumbled into a surprise. Sgt. Hobo was standing a short distance, a look of slight satisfaction on his face. Behind him was a river, from which a noxious smell protruded. He began speaking as they approached. "Well done. I'd expect a few more complications from this group"- he glared at Ren- "but you've done alright. You're even a bit ahead of schedule."

The members of the party grinned at the praise, but the Sergeant held up his hand.

"Oh, no, you're not done yet. You're halfway there. You've gotten in, but now you have to get out."


End file.
